Selector mechanism



' Patented Mar. 5, 1940 SELECTOR MECHANISM Bruno mam, Libertyvilie, m, assignor to The Exhibit Supply Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application February 1, 1938, Serial No. 188,210

' 2 Claims. ,(01. 200-5) This invention pertains to selector mechanism, and particularly selecting means for use with coin-operated apparatus such as vending and amusement devices.

5 The invention has as one of its important objects the provision of an improved selector mechanism including a plurality of blocking members arranged end to end and cooperating selector plungers or buttons, one of which may be de- 10 pressed and moved between adjoining blocks to shift each ofthe blocks in opposite directions'and move all of the blocks so as to" prevent the operation of any other plunger or push button.

Another object is the provision in a selector ll mechanism of the class described of fraud-preventive means by means of which a selected; plunger or push button must necessarily be depressed or operated to the full extent of its stroke in order to actuate the controlled or selecting 2o mechanism. Another important object is the provision in a selector mechanism, such as characterized above;

of fraud-preventive means in the nature of switch mechanismarranged to be operated by each oi 5 the plungers when the same are depressed to the limit of their movement and also arranged in circuit with fraud-preventive switch means which in a turnis controlled by a fraud-preventive means which necessitates the depressing of a selected plunger to the limit of .its movement, whereby a double fraud-preventive control is exercised over the controlled amusement or vending apparatus. Still another object is the provision of improved structural features and a novel arrangement of 35 parts such as will hereinafter lee-particularly described and claimed.

Yet another object is the provision of selector mechanism including ,a plurality of serially aligned blocking members and a plurality of 40 aligned plungers, any one of which may be depressed to move an end portion of the same to shift the latter in" opposite directions and thereby shift the entiregroup of blocking members to block the operation of all of the rest of the select 1 ing plungers, controlswitch means arranged to be engaged and operated by the end of a selected plunger which is depressed to the limit of its movement between an adjoining pair of blocks in the manner described, and a supervisory or 50 fraud-preventive switch in circuit with the control switch and which is opened by a special fraud-preventive mechanism during a predetermined interval of time when the selected plunger is being moved into fully operated position to 55 operate the control switch as aforesaid.

1 lines 5 of Fig, 1;

Other novel objects and aspects 0! the inverttion include certain features and details of construction and operation which will appear as the I following description proceeds in view oi the drawing, in which: 5

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the mounting plate or panel for the selector plungers;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the selector mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view, viewed along lines 3-3 of Fig. 1; w

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view of a part of the selector mechanism as viewed along lines 4-4 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section along Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevational detail partly '1 section of one of the selector units as seen along lines 6-6 of Fig. 1;v while Fig. '7 is a vertical section similar to Fig. '6- and $0 illustrating a modified mechanical control.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the selector mechanism includes a mounting plate it (Fig. 1) having a plurality of horizontally aligned holes. in which aredisposed the outer end portions 12, constituting push buttons, 01 1 operating plungers 13 (see also Fig. 6)

Forming part of or attached to therear portion of the mounting plate it is a spaced bracket member It providing a horizontally extending channel or-groove 15 (Fig. 5) into which extends the beveled end portion 18 of each of the plunger rods 13. The channel or track portion 15 is continuous and extends irorn one longitudinal end of the mounting plate 10 to the other, or substantially so. v k

Disposed in the horizontally extending track or channel 15 are a plurality of wedge-shaped blocking members 11 arrangedin end to end fashion and each having slanting or beveled opposite 40 end portions ll between which ,the beveled nose portion i B of any of the selector plungers it may wedge its way to separate two adjoining blocking members and shift thelatter in opposite directions out of the path of movement of the plunger,

and particularly the nose portion it thereof, into and through an opening 18 in a rear cover plate is attached to the bracket structure it by means such as the screws 20'. t It will be observed in Fig; whenever a particular one of the selector rigors i3 is pushed in to the limit of'its movement to project its nose portion it through corresponding opening 18' in the cover plate, the whole group of blocking members i1 shifts in @EBEGSltCfdi-Yfig tions (except when the endmost plungers are depressed, in which case the group shifts in only one direction), and thus oppositely shifted blocking members dispose their several wedge-shaped end portions I 1' beneath the nose portions iii of corresponding plungers so that it is impossible to depress any of the latter after one of the same has been moved fully into selecting position.

Each of the plungers I3 is provided with a normal spring 2|, one end of which bears against the portion I2 thereof, and the opposite end of which bears against an inner surface 22 of the bracket structure i4 so that the several plungers are normally disposed with their nose portions l6 withdrawn from between the blocking members as viewed in Fig. 6, for example.

Preferably mounted on the cover plate l9 (Figs. 2 and 6) are a plurality of control switches 23 of the leaf spring variety, each having a pair of contact springs 24 and 25 normally biased in open circuit condition and arranged behind the openings l8, there being one such switch for each plunger l3. When the plunger, is depressed to the limit of its inward movement, the nose portion I 6 thereof will engage the inner switch sprirm 24 and urge the latter outwardly (Fig. 6) into contacting engagement with the companion spring 25 to close a control circuit for the operation of a controlled instrumentality such as a vending mechanism or amusement apparatus of some kind.

In order to prevent the fraudulent manipulation of the plungers, each of the latter is provided with a laterally extending cam member or pin 26 which is adapted to engage the inclined or cammed edge portion 21 of a ball 23 pivotally mounted by the screw means 20 at opposite ends of the casing and bracket structure l4-|6. This bail is in the nature of an elongated bar member having opposite end portions turned up in U fashion for pivotal mounting by means of the screws 20, there being provided springs 26 attached at oneend to the bail and at their opposite ends to the frame or bracket structure and normally urging the bail in an upward or clockwise direction (Fig. 6) so as to dispose the cam edge portion 21 thereof in thepath of the cam extensions 26 on the several plungers l3. In the form 'of the device illustrated herein, the operating plungers include the shank portions l3 and the push button portions l2 of larger diameter joined by means of the cam pins 26 which are extended through laterally registered openings in the push button and shank in ,the manner seen in Fig. 6.

Each time the push button l2 (referring still to Fig. 6) is urged inwardly against the tension of its spring 2|, the cam extension 26 will engage the cam edge 21 on the bail 26 and depress the latter against the tension of the springs 26 to permit the lateral cam nose 26 of the plunger to pass over the bail, whereupon the springs 26 will raise the latter to prevent the return of the plunger to its normal position. Thus, whenever' any of the plungers is pushed in to the limit of its movement, the ball 28 will lock the plunger in depressed condition, which condition corresponds to the projection of the nose portion l6 of the plunger through the opening in the cover plate l9 so as to operate the corresponding control switch 23. I

There is provided a further fraud-preventive means in the form of a supervisory switch 30 (Figs. 2 and 6) mounted by bracket means 3| on the cover plate 16 and having a pair of normally open contact springs 32 and 33 extending horizontally toward the bail and adapted to be engaged by g a lateral switch-operating pin 34 mounted on the bail when the latter is in its normally raised position. Whenever the ball 26 is depressed against the tension of its springs 26 by any means, particularly by the plunger cam extensions 26, the contact springs 32 and tend to open,'and this pair of contact springs s intended to be arranged in series with the circuit controlled by the control switch 23 so that in order to operate the controlled instrumentality the contacts 24 and 25 of the master control switch 23 must be closed and also the contacts 32 and 33 of the supervisory or fraud-preventive switch means must likewise be closed, and this latter condition corresponds to the raised condition of the bail, the control and supervisory switches being simultaneously closed only when the plunger is in fully depressed condition.

In order to release an operated one of the plungers from its locked condition by the ball 28, there is provided a reset arm 36 having a pivotal connection with the ball as at 36 and which is intended to be operated, that is, moved downwardly shown in dotted lines, (Fig. 6), at

the end of each operation or initiation of the operating cycle of the controlled instrumentality or apparatus, so that the ball 26 will be lowered to withdraw the edge portion 21 thereof from blocking position in front of the cam extensions 26 on the plungers, the latter being returned to normal by their respective springs 2|.

This selector mechanism may be used with any type of coin control and preferably one in which a master switch or circuit is closed by the deposit of a proper coin so as to energize the controlled instrumentality through the switches 23 and 36. However, various coin-operated detent means may be utilized to control the movement of the group of blocking members ll mechanically, if desired. Among other examples, the control switch 23 may be replaced by a mechanical actuating member 31 pivotally mounted on the cover member l9 as at 36 and adapted to be operatively engaged by the projecting nose portion l6 of a corresponding plunger l3, as illustrated in Fig. 7. These and other arrangements and combinations, as well as various changes in the specific structure described herein for purposes of illustration, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the inven tion, and it is expressly understood that the appended claims are intended to include all such rearrangements, modifications, and all changes in form or location or integration of the elements of the invention as herein described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Selector mechanism for use with a 0011-.

trolled instrumentality and including a mounting plate, a plurality of plungers mounted in alignment in said plate and having sliding support in a common bracket member attached to said plate at one side thereof, the end portions of each of said plungers in said bracket communicating with an elongated groove formation therein and extending in alignment with said plungers, spring means normally urging each of said plungers to withdraw said end portions thereof from said groove, a plurality of blocking members arranged in serial contiguity in said groove so that any of said plungers excepting the first and last of the series may be pushed into said groove to shift lli contiguous blocking members into blocking position before the ends of the remaining plungers, whereby to prevent effective operation of the same, said first and last plungers moving the corresponding first and last blocking members of the series for the purpose aforesaid, aplurality of switch members, one for eachplunger, and each operatively engaged by the aforesaid end portion of a corresponding plunger when the latter is moved into said groove, each of said plungers having a lateral locking projection disposed in serial alignment with the locking projections on the other plungers, a bail having pivotal support on said bracket portion and provided with a cam edge portion extending substantially in parallel with said aligned locking projections on the plungers, said bail being engaged by the locking projection onfany plunger when the latter is moved into said groove to permit the locking projection to pass over the ball, the latter being provided with spring means returning the same to position to block the return movement of said plunger, whereby 7 any of the latter will be locked in operative engagement with its corresponding switch means until said bail is released, said ball being adapted to be pivoted out of locking position as aforesaid by an external agency.

2. In a device 01 the class described, a plurality of plungers aligned for parallel reciprocation, spring means severally urging the plungers into a normal position, switch means arranged for several operation by an end of one of each of said plungers, means coacting with the switch operatingends of said plungers for blocking efiective movement of all other plungers when one of the sameis depressed to actuate the corresponding -switch means, and latch means common to all of said plungers for latching any of the same in operative position when the plunger has been moved a predetermined amount toward said position, said latching means including a bail p'voted for movement in a direction laterally toward and away from said plungers, spring means normally urging said ball toward the piungers, said plungers having locking parts aligned with said ball and each arranged to be cammed over and past said ball when the corresponding plunger is de-.

pressed, each of said locking parts coacting with "said bail to prevent restoration of the corresponding depressed plunger to normal position, and means for moving said ball out of latching position to release said plungers.

BRUNO RADTKE. 

